Weekly Report: Dec. 23, 2014

Before heading into a quick holiday break, the Checkers endured a grueling four games in six nights, emerging with five of a possible eight points.

The Checkers were able to gain some much needed ground in the standings last week as they faced a tough test, welcoming the top-two teams in the West Division to town. The depth scoring showed up and contributed to the success, including a three-game goal streak for Chad LaRose and a four-game point streak from Jared Staal.

The team will now enjoy a break for the holidays before heading to Austin on December 27th to square off with the Texas Stars, a team the Checkers downed 3-1 in their last meeting two weeks ago.

Week in Review

Oklahoma City 4, Checkers 1

The Checkers started their four-game home stand off on the wrong foot, struggling to get anything going and falling to the Barons 4-1. After allowing Oklahoma City to jump out to an early two-goal lead, Brendan Woods lit the lamp in the second to pull the Checkers within striking distance. But Kellen Jones answered for the Barons just 11 seconds later, and that proved to be too much, as they added an empty-netter to cruise to victory.Full recap

Checkers 4, Oklahoma City 2

Two days later, the Checkers flipped the script, rebounding for a convincing win over the West Division-leading Barons. This time it was the Checkers jumping out to an early lead thanks to strikes from Jared Staal and Chad LaRose. Oklahoma City fired back in the second to narrow the margin, but Charlotte's ailing powerplay finally produced some results, as Danny Biega foudn the back of the net for the eventual game-winner. John Muse stood tall in net, stoppign 22 of the 24 shots he faced and earning his second win of the season.Full recap

San Antonio 3, Checkers 2 (SO)

Despite an impressive comeback, a late mistake cost the Checkers and forced the game into a shootout, wher the Rampage would prevail. After a tightly-contested first period, San Antonio found the board first, but the Checkers stormed back in the final frame, with Trevor Carrick knotting the game midway through the period and Chad LaRose putting Charlotte in front with under three minutes remaining in regulation. But, with the help of an extra attacker, the Rampage tied the game with just 18 seconds left on the clock. After a fruitless overtime, the game proceeded to a shootout, where both goalies stood strong, turning aside all shots they faced until the eighth round, when Alex Petrovic put on epast MacIntyre to secure the two points for San Antonio.Full recap

Checkers 3, San Antonio 1

Wrapping up their tough home stand, the Checkers boucned back and rolled over San Antonio, avenging their loss two days before. After Phil Di Giuseppe sniped the corner on a breakaway to put Charlotte up, Steven Hodges quickly pulled San Antonio back into the game with a tally of his own. But just before the end of the frame, Chad LaRose notched the eventual game-winner with a higlight reel goal, streaking in and sending the puck off the far side post and in while being taken down by a defender. Ben Holmstrom added an empty-netter, his second in as many nights, and the Checkers headed into the holiday break on a high note.Full recap

Notables

Murphy's Helping Hand

Defenseman Ryan Murphy leads the Checkers with 16 assists on the season, at least eight more than any other Charlotte skater. He also leads the team in points, making him the only AHL player to do so without scoring a single goal. Murphy, who has played just 21 of the Checkers' 29 games after starting the season in Carolina, is one of five AHL defensmen to lead his team in scoring. He is tied for second among AHL defensemen with 16 assists, just two off the league lead, and is tied for 12th in points by defensemen. He leads the Checkers in power-play assists and points (7).

Murphy, a 21-year-old who the Hurricanes drafted 12th overall in 2011, now has 40 points (3g, 37a) in 46 career AHL games. Last season, he posted a 12-game assist/point streak that marked the longest in franchise history and was the longest by an AHL defenseman since the 2008-09 campaign. He currently has assists in each of his last three games (4a).

LaRose Finding His Legs

Veteran forward Chad LaRose has recorded a goal in each of his last three games, putting him one shy of the team's longest goal streak this season, set by Justin Shugg. His hot streak has propelled LaRose to second on the team in points and third in goals.

Returning to the game after not playing professional hockey last season, LaRose started slow, with just two goals in his first 21 games. But the longtime Hurricane has caught fire, racking up five goals in the last eight contests.

Career Stretch For Staal

Jared Staal's opening goal against Oklahoma City on Dec. 18 was his fifth of the campaign, marking a career high for a single season. Since then, he added an assist against San Antonio on Dec. 19, extending his point streak to a career-best four games (2g, 2a) and tying his career high for points in a single season (7) that was set in each of the last two campaigns.

Now in his fifth professional season, all with the Checkers, Staal has posted 32 points (15g, 17a) in 191 career AHL contests. Along with Zach Boychuk, Michal Jordan, Rasmus Rissanen and Chris Terry, Staal is one of just five players to play at least one game for the Checkers in all five of their AHL seasons.

Story Of The Shootout

The Dec. 19 loss to San Antonio snapped the Checkers' four-shootout winning streak dating back to March 7 of last season. They are now 1-1 this season, having previously defeated Milwaukee on Nov. 30.

With 10 saves on 11 attempts, Drew MacIntyre leads all AHL goaltenders who have played in more than one shootout with a .909 save percentage. As an offense, the Checkers rank last among teams that have played more than shootout with a .091 shooting percentage (1-for-11).

A Little Busy

Thanks to a week that saw him sign with Charlotte on Tuesday, return to Florida on Wednesday and return to Charlotte in time for back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday, defenseman Mike Little completed the rare feat of playing four games in four nights on Dec. 19.

Little, who had just three games of AHL experience with Norfolk entering this week, is actually the second Checkers to play a four-in-four this season. Andrew Rowe, another professional tryout signing from the ECHL level, made his Checkers debut on Nov. 2 after playing on each of the previous three nights with the South Carolina Stingrays. Checkers forwards Zach Boychuk and Chris Terry completed a four-in-four split between Charlotte and the Carolina Hurricanes last season.

We Meet Again

The Checkers have faced the same opponent in consecutive games 12 times this season. They are a combined 3-7-2 in the first halves of those series and a combined 7-5-0 in the second, including one instance where they won both games (against Milwaukee on Nov. 29 and 30) and three where they lost both (Grand Rapids on Oct. 17-18, San Antonio on Nov. 14-15 and Oklahoma City on Nov. 21-22).

Ranks

• Defenseman Ryan Murphy is tied for 12th among AHL defensemen in points and 18th in assists and is tied for second among defensemen in assists
• Kyle Hagel leads the league in major penalties (11)
• Defenseman Rasmus Rissanen ranks fourth among AHL defenseman in minor penalties (17)
• Forward Chad LaRose leads the AHL in shorthanded assists (3) and is tied for second in shorthanded points (3)
• Defenseman Trevor Carrick is tied for third among AHL rookies in major penalties (4)
• Forward Justin Shugg is tied for ninth in the AHL with a shooting percentage of 24.3%

Injuries

• Keegan Lowe - missed four games starting 12/16
• Beau Schmitz - missed seven games starting 12/10
• Greg Nemisz - missed eight games starting 12/8
• Brody Sutter - missed 17 games starting 11/15

Milestones

• Trevor Carrick scored his first professional goal on 12/19
• Ryan Murphy recorded his 50th pro point on 12/18
• Chad LaRose played in his 700th pro game on 12/16
• Brendan Woods recorded his 100th AHL/pro penalty minute on 12/16

Transactions

Incoming

• Dec. 20 - (LW) Justin Shugg assigned to Charlotte (AHL) from Carolina (NHL)
• Dec. 18 - (D) Mike Little signed to professional tryout contract from Florida (ECHL)

Outgoing

• Dec. 22 - (LW) Gabriel Desjardins released from professional tryout contract to Florida (ECHL)
• Dec. 22 - (C) Brendan Woods recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte (AHL)

Coming Up

By the Numbers

Team Statistics
CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK	LAST WEEK
Power play	10.0%	30th	30th
Penalty kill	84.3%	13th	t-12th
Goals per game	2.28	29th	29th
Shots per game	27.76	26th	26th
Goals allowed per game	2.93	t-19th	20th
Shots allowed per game	30.69	17th	19th
Penalty minutes per game	19.86	24th	25th

Team Leaders
CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Ryan Murphy (16), Chad LaRose (15), Greg Nemisz (14)
Goals	Justin Shugg (9), Greg Nemisz (8), Chad LaRose (7)
Assists	Ryan Murphy (16), Brock McGinn, Chad LaRose (8)
Power play goals	Justin Shugg (4)
Shorthanded goals	Greg Nemisz (2)
Game-winning goals	Greg Nemisz (2)
Shots on goal	Brock McGinn (70), Chad LaRose (67), Phil Di Giuseppe (66)
Penalty minutes	Kyle Hagel (73), Keegan Lowe (60), Carter Sandlak (50)
Plus/minus	Beau Schmitz (+2), Four tied (+1)
Wins	Drew MacIntyre (9)
Goals-against average	Drew MacIntyre (2.59)
Save percentage	Drew MacIntyre (.916)